As age checks become a standard part of online life in 2025, questions arise about how well they’re working and what comes next. Tim Green, Director of MEF’s ID and Data programme, explores the realities of age verification…
In 2025 age checks on the internet become the norm in many countries. Is the experiment working? MEF talked to Iain Corby, Executive Director of The Age Verification Providers Association.
How old are you? Can you prove it?
These are the two questions that have defined online life for millions of people in 2025. This year, for the first time, governments in multiple regions have introduced new regulation to limit access to adult sites on the web. It’s fair to say the era of easy unbounded access to any online content is over.
The adult industry expected to lose 90 percent of their users if you brought in age verification. And the experience in some US states, but then absolutely reinforced in the UK, is that didn’t happen.”
This raises many important questions. They include:
* Which AV methods are available to enterprises and users?
* Which of these methods is proving most effective?
* How are consumers avoiding AV?
* What are the security and privacy concerns?
* Where has AV been mandated, and where is it coming next?
* How will digital ID and wallets impact the space?
* What are the business models of specialist AV providers?
The organisation best placed to answer these questions is the Age Verification Providers Association. It has advised regulators all over the world on the best way to handle AV. Its members often provide the technology that helps site owners to implement reliable age restrictions.
In an exclusive webinar, MEF talked to Iain Corby, Executive Director of The Age Verification Providers Association. Over an hour long conversation, Iain revealed many fascinating insights into the progress of this important issue.
Changing public attitudes:
“If technology can put a man on the moon, surely you can prove your age online without disclosing your identity. When you put it like that, people say, yeah, you’re probably right.”
The success of mobile number verification:
“One of the most popular – and surprising – methods of authentication is mobile phone number data… I think aggregators in the mobile market could be very helpful and start contributing to that.”
New biometric ideas:
“There’s an estimation system that works on how you move your fingers, which is really interesting. It’s 97 percent accurate distinguishing between adults and children, according to the Australian trial.”
The EU age verification app:
“The EU has just launched its own app to do age verification… will people want to use it to prove their age to look at adult content? I’m sure a lot of people will think the government is tracking them and not be keen to use that… also there’s no commercial model per se, but there is an enormous cost to taxpayers. I wonder how long that’s going to be sustainable.”
The impact of UK AV day:
“In the UK in July, we were doing as an industry at least 10 million checks a day.”
Expectation vs reality:
“The adult industry expected to lose 90 percent of their users if you brought in age verification. And the experience in some US states, but then absolutely reinforced in the UK, is that didn’t happen.”
AV avoidance:
“People were able to hold their phone up to their computer screen and pass liveness checks using an avatar. We can’t be complacent because these techniques spread like wildfire on TikTok and other platforms.”
Find out more about the themes discussed – Join the MEF ID & Data Interest Group.
